Al Iaquinta: Giving post-fight bonuses is like the UFC’s ‘way to control everybody’

Al Iaquinta is not a fan of the UFC post-fight bonuses, among other things.

After a two-year absence from the sport, Al Iaquinta made his UFC return on Saturday night in Nashville. He made a strong statement for a comeback when he knocked out TUF 1 winner Diego Sanchez in the first round of their co-main event fight.

The Ray Longo-trained fighter was out of action because of a knee injury and contract disputes with the UFC. He did find his way back into the company when he signed a new contract, but remains unhappy with it, and is even having second thoughts about fighting again.

During Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, “Ragin’ Al” once again put the UFC on blast, this time on the post-fight bonus structure. At UFC Nashville, he was not given the $50,000 bonus despite his spectacular finish, which he also questioned.

“If anything, I hate that even more now,” Iaquinta said (via MMA Fighting). “Just not winning the bonuses, I don’t know. I don’t know whether they didn’t give it to me because I didn’t deserve it, or whether they didn’t give it to me to kind of shaft me, because they said in the past that I wasn’t eligible to win bonuses and maybe they’re just sticking it to me.”

“The whole bonus thing is just ridiculous. The fact that they’re giving $50,000 bonuses, it’s like their little way to control everybody.

“I don’t understand how everyone just thinks that’s normal. Fifty-thousand dollar bonus — a bonus is like a little something extra,” he continued. “Fifty-thousand dollars is like three times some of these guys’ pay. That’s not a bonus. That’s like life-changing stuff. And oh, it looks great. But guess what? That’s their little way to control you.”

“You’ve got to suck up to the man. You suck up to the man, you get on the mic, you thank Joe Silva, ‘thank you guys, you guys are the best, thank you Dana White, thank you Lorenzo Fertitta,’ and those are the guys who get the bonuses. So it’s their little way. Like, ‘kiss my ass and I’ll give you a little scrap.’”

Iaquinta also directed his tirades towards UFC president Dana White. This was rooted from White’s heavy criticism of UFC 208 and how the fighters on card performed.

“Dana White has done a lot for this sport, but he’s not gotten one injury from this sport,” Iaquinta said. “And for him to say, ‘the best part of UFC Brooklyn was the flight home’ — you’re on a private jet, bro. Shut the f–k up. You’re on a private jet. Most people, that would be the highlight of their life. Forget the night. You’re on a private jet, of course it’s the highlight of your night.”